A total of 564 ballots were cast in the 2013 AMYA elections. The results are:

                                               Eligible Ballots Received:

Office              Nominee       Votes Yes:                       

Regional Directors

Region 3          Robert Greer             164                 195

Region 4          Rob Hill                       76                   92

Region 5          Ray Seta                      62                   66

Region 6          Jim Atkinson               77                   89

Class Secretaries

J                        John Hanks                 18                   21

Wheeler           Jeff Depew                    4                     4

Soling 50         Greg Dawe                   11                   16

Victoria           Bob Szczepanski       73                 103

Infinity 54      James Hensel                6                     7

EC12               Joe Walter                 119                 143

CR 914            David Graves              21                   25

US12                Jack Ward                   35                   37

Soling 1M       Frank Vella               232                 297

IOM                 Fred Rocha                 24                   38

Nirvana           Robert Franklin          10                   14

T37                  Will Lesh                        6                     6

S/B                   Mark Baldacchino    31                   40

Motions

                                               Eligible Ballots Received:

Bylaws            Motion          Votes Yes:     No:           

                          Bylaw M-1                395       36     564

The motion is carried and will take effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

Class               

S1M                 S1M-M1                      95     182     297

The motion fails.

S1M                 S1M-M1                      78     195     297

The motion fails.

V-32                 V-32-M1                      17       11       35

Situated as a water feature for the large new Jordan Creek Mall, with a wide concrete walkway to the waters edge, our pond is a great venue. We have a first-rate Control Area, an extra-wide dock where launching and seeing what happens on a classic modified Olympic course makes for great racing. We enjoy varied conditions, with spring and late summer prevailing winds out of the south at 10-12 mph, often gusting to 20, and often very light air in July and early August.

The ideal wind direction on our pond is from the south, SSE, or SSW, and that is what we enjoyed this entire season, except for this V-32 NCR. On this September day, we started at 10 a.m. with the wind coming in from the SSW at 15-17, with gusts well past 20, which made for tough but fast-paced racing. At about 11 a.m. light rain softened the wind a bit, but then shortly after noon, everyone was shivering and wondering why. The temperature started in the mid 70s well past 11 a.m., but by noon it had dropped 20 degrees! Wet and cold, we broke for lunch. When we resumed racing about 1:30, the 0-20 wind started veering from SSW, to W, and then to NW, so we reversed the course, and had at it. Fortunately, the temperature had started warming, and when we finished racing at 3:45 p.m., the temperature was in the low 80s. Unfortunately, the west shifting wind funnels around and between the restaurant buildings lining the west side of the pond, created totally unpredictable currents of air interspersed with dead spaces. To quote Rob Hill following his hard earned third place finish: "You had many conditions I have never seen before. Wide and varied would be a serious understatement; it was a really humbling, challenging, learning experience to say the least."

The point spread for 16 races does not truly reflect the closeness of the racing. Because of the challenging wind conditions (especially in the afternoon) no race followed a predictable pattern, and the lead literally changed from leg to leg. It is a real testament to Charlie Rhinehart's skill and perseverance that he placed first in this NCR. By placing second in a class in which he had never before sailed, let alone handling the challenging conditions of the day, David Brawner's racing spoke for his skill. I doubt anyone involved would call this a fun regatta, but I guarantee everyone savored the unforgettably tough competition, and even tougher conditions. No matter your skill level (so long as you understand the primary RRS), no matter your model yacht class, travel to regattas and you will be a better skipper for the experience.

Summary of the 2013 V-32 NCR

September 28

Location: West Des Moines, Iowa

Host Club: Iowa Model Yacht Racing Club

Entries: 8

Winds: 0-20+ mph, shifting SSW to NNW

Races completed: 16

Scoring: Low Point (no throw-outs)

Regatta Committee: Bruce Zemke, Regatta Coordinator; John Davis, RD.

V-32 NCR top five finishers

Place      Skipper                         Sail #         Points

1              Charlie Rhinehart          5886              34

2              David Brawner              1765              40

3              Rob Hill                        5108              53

4              Bruce Zemke                5271              75

5              Brian Larson                 5767              80

Ray Seta - WSC Regatta Chairman  

     With the forecast stating that we would have rain sometime through the weekend, we were all hoping the weather people would be wrong! Beautiful sunshine and light to medium winds were the call for Friday and Saturday. Eric Gregory, the Race Director, did a great job with the courses as the day went on! As much fun as this event was slated and advertised to be, there was also a level of seriousness brought to this event by the Top Skippers. Every aspect of this event ran on time , even the usual Pirates of Woodlawn lunch served to the minute on time after a Masterful BBQ PitMaster had been smoking the 100lbs of Texas Brisket for over 12 hours. Again....no one goes home hungry from Woodlawn for 2 days! Do I need to mention the Saturday Evening's Mexican feast at a local spot complete with Free Tequila shots waiting for the skippers after arriving in there private shuttle bus from the Host Hotel to Dinner called the "Margarita Express". Should I mention one of the highest valued Raffle that night with no less than 3 full kit boats, Radios, and 7 sets of sails to be given out!? Read details on the Club's website!!! 

Several months ago the clever team of Harry Henkel and Roger Baldwin, from the Oxford RC Laser Fleet, got together over a couple of lemonades and came up with the idea of an RC LASER river race on a portion of the Tred Avon River in Easton, MD. That was some lemonade meeting as this event was spectacular from beginning to end. The Ft. Stoakes Cannonball  River Race was held October 12, 2013 from the headwaters of the Tred Avon River with the Baldwin family compound as the headquarters for all the festivities. The essence of a long distance race is that each RC skipper has a much needed partner operating a launch craft of

Click the Image for more Photos

any type while deftly maneuvering the launch around and away from other competitors craft both large and small. The team of Dave Branning and Elaine Hepkin won the 4 mile race in a slightly damp day over 10 other competitive teams. For a complete detailed report on the event and all the festivities that complimented the day go to www.rclaserna.com.

The Results: RC Laser Skipper/Launch Boat Skipper

1. Dave Branning/Elaine Hepkin
2. Jamey Betz/Luke Betz
3. Jim Karr/John/Trax
4. Bob Roe/Dave Brooks
5. Roger Vaughan/Tom Baker
6. Don Barker/Clare Barker
7. John Tochko/Chris Tochko
8. Harry Henkel/Jeannie Henkel
9. Victor Oberg/Dave Brawner

DNF     Dick Richards/Bonnie Richards

DNF     Roger Baldwin/Dave Littleton